In the recent years, we can always come across the news about teenagers suffering from depression. Whether you have noticed it or not, the fact is that the number of depressed students is on the rise and this alone is worrying.
There are many causes for depression but the competitive environment in Hong Kong is definitely not one to be missed. At school, students are taught to be exam-oriented and academic results seem to be gaining extremely important. Students have the mindset that they have to outshine the others in order to be successful. At home, teenagers are nagged and urged to study hard and join extra-curricular activities in order to be standing out during interviews and different competitions. It is crystal clear that no matter where they are, teenagers cannot escape from the over-competitive nature of society. To safeguard a bright future, students have to be competitive and work extra hard in aspects that they aren’t capable of, or else they are seen as stupid and lazy. They could only get recognition from their parents and teachers if they do well in all aspects. This is putting tremendous stress on teenagers which should not have existed. Attacked by scolding and criticism, teenagers who have low self-esteem may easily fall into the traps of depression.
Another cause is that people are not aware of the seriousness of depression. Teachers, parents and even the teenagers themselves may fail to recognize the symptoms of depression and treat it seriously due to the lack of knowledge and overall-understanding of the problem. They might take lightly of the situation and even judge the teenagers who are depressed as those who fail to cope with their emotions. This makes worse the situation as teenagers may feel reluctant to seek help even if they are feeling stressed and down. The inability to realize the problem can lead to serious cases of depression.
The competitive environment and lack of knowledge may seem difficult to battle with, but this worrisome trend of students getting depressed should not be put aside. Depression is not something that could be healed with time without proper counselling and medication. If not dealt with properly, teenagers may even proceed to taking their own lives, in extreme cases.
Education is the key and it is to be done in certain aspects.
First, the public should be educated to remedy the abnormal, unnecessary and arbitrary competitions in society. People should be reminded that success can come up in many different aspects, by many different ways and that all people are unique. Some teenagers can be good at studying while others can be good at sports and arts. There is no such a need to fight for the same goal of gaining first in rank in order to prove one’s value. This would take time for society to change, but if no one is willing to even take the first step, Hong Kong’s future is hopeless.
Furthermore, schools could conduct talks to educate both teachers and students of the importance of taking care of depression seriously. It is not to just cram all information into students’ heads of the symptoms of depression and so on, but to keep them open-minded about depression. They should learn to acknowledge depression instead of denying the problem. This way, they could address the problem as soon as possible and prevent it from worsening. Teenagers who notice themselves falling towards depression could also feel comfortable to seek help and treat the issue when it’s not too late.
Last but not least, teenagers should know how to deal with stress and relax. Listening to music and doing sports may be common ways of relaxing but it might not work on everyone. The most important element in education is to allow teenagers to take the lead and explore the best ways to help themselves when facing similar situations.
All in all, although depression is sometimes a thorny problem, the symptoms are not hard to detect. If we pay more attention to it and take suitable actions, the problem can be resolved. It is now time for us to take a further step and we may be able to help those around us. Let’s cheer for one another!